The Constitution of Kappa Kappa Psi,
Gamma Chapter at the University of Washington
(Revised April 2012)
Preamble
Be it known that Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity, is an
organization operating exclusively in the field of College and University bands, and for
the following five purposes:
1. To promote the existence and welfare of College and University bands and to
cultivate, at large, a wholesome respect for their activities and achievements.
2. To honor outstanding Bandmembers through the privilege of Membership
extended as a reward for technical achievement and appreciation for the best
in music.
3. To stimulate campus leadership and promulgate an uncompromising respect
through the medium of college bands for gracious conduct, good taste, and
unswerving loyalty.
4. To foster a close relationship between college bands and promote a high
average of attainment by the performance of good music and selection of
worthwhile projects.
5. To provide a pleasant and helpful social experience for all engaged in college
band work and to cooperate with other musical organizations in any manner
consistent with the purposes of the University of Washington.
I. Organization
1.01
1.02
1.03
1.04
The name of this organization shall be Kappa Kappa Psi, Honorary Band
Fraternity for College and University Bandmembers, Gamma Chapter at
the University of Washington.
The Chapter shall be affiliated with Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary
Band Fraternity for College and University Bandmembers. The Chapter
shall, in all cases, be subordinate to the National Fraternity. This Chapter
Constitution shall in no way conflict with or receive priority over the
National Constitution of Kappa Kappa Psi.
The Chapter recognizes Tau Beta Sigma as an associated organization
with a similar purpose, function, and role in the College and University
setting.
The Chapter shall operate under the authority of the Chapter Sponsor.
1.05
1.06
1.07
The Chapter shall have jurisdiction over all dues-paying Members of the
Gamma Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi.
The Chapter will not engage in hazing as defined in the Kappa Kappa Psi
National Constitution.
The following documents shall function in support of this Constitution:
a) Attendance Policy
b) Code of Conduct
c) Convention Fund
d) Membership Education Program (MEP)
II. Membership
2.01
2.02
2.03
2.04
Chapter Membership types shall be as outlined in the National
Constitution. No Membership shall be recognized by the Chapter until all
initiation fees have been paid to the Chapter or other arrangements have
been made and the initiation has been completed as prescribed by the
Ritual.
The Chapter shall not discriminate for Membership or status on the basis
of race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, handicap, or
marital status.
The majority of the Active Membership of the Chapter shall consist of
regularly enrolled undergraduate and graduate students of the University
of Washington.
It shall be the duty of each Active Member to adhere to the Chapter
Attendance Policy and Code of Conduct; to promptly fulfill all financial
obligations to both the Chapter and the National Fraternity; to become
acquainted with the National Constitution, District Constitution, Joint
District Constitution, Chapter Constitution and the history of Kappa
Kappa Psi; to support the efforts and purposes of the Chapter and
Fraternity.
2.04.1 If a Member does not adhere to the Chapter Attendance Policy,
said Member shall meet with the Executive Council to discuss
Membership status.
III. Officers and Appointed Positions
3.01
The Officers of the Chapter shall be President, Vice-President, Treasurer,
Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Historian, Director of
Post-Membership Education and Parliamentarian.
3.02
3.03
3.04
3.05
3.06
3.07
3.08
The Appointed Positions of the Chapter shall be Webmaster and Director
of Music.
The Chapter Officers shall together form the Executive Council of the
Chapter. The Executive Council shall meet separately from the Active
Membership as needed and shall report to the Active Membership on all
relevant matters discussed at Executive Council meetings. A majority of
all voting Chapter Officers shall constitute a quorum for all Executive
Council meetings.
The Active Members of the Chapter shall elect the officers at a regularly
called meeting of the Chapter during spring quarter at such a time that all
eligible members shall have a fair chance at candidacy. The Chapter
President shall notify the entire voting Membership of the election in a
meeting at least seven days prior to the election. A majority of all votes
cast shall be necessary for election. In the event that no one candidate
receives a majority vote, a runoff election shall be held between the
leading candidates as determined by the President and Parliamentarian.
The responsibilities laid out for officers in this constitution are in addition
to responsibilities specified in the National Constitution.
The President shall preside at all meetings of the Chapter and shall be a
Member ex-officio of all Chapter Committees. The President shall be
listed on all Chapter accounts and shall sign all contracts and other
instruments of business involving the Chapter. The President shall be
designated as the official representative of the Chapter whenever such
representation shall be required and shall prepare and send all reports to
the National Headquarters. The President shall present the agenda for the
meeting to the chapter via email at least 12 hours prior to the meeting.
The Vice-President shall, in the absence of the President, preside at the
meetings of the Chapter and shall advance the purposes of the Fraternity
as stated in the Preamble of the National Constitution by promoting the
work of the Chapter as performed by its several Officers and Committees.
The Vice-President shall be responsible for Membership Education, unless
another has been elected to that duty. The Vice-President shall follow the
Membership Education Plan (MEP) as approved by the chapter.
3.07.1 The Vice-President will review the MEP at the beginning of each
academic year.
3.07.2 Any changes made to the MEP will be presented to the Chapter
before First Degree and will be approved by the Chapter and
Sponsor.
The Treasurer shall control all receipts and disbursement of all monies of
the Chapter, and shall submit recommendations concerning the financial
3.09
3.10
3.11
3.12
3.13
policies of the Chapter as may be required. The Treasurer shall draft a
quarterly Chapter financial budget by the second official meeting of the
year. The treasurer shall serve as a member of the fundraising committee
and will be eligible to apply for the fundraising committee head position.
The Recording Secretary shall record the minutes of all Chapter Meetings.
The Recording Secretary shall be responsible for making sure each
Member has access to a copy of meeting minutes before the next meeting.
The Recording Secretary will be responsible for taking notes of the
Executive Council meetings and making them available to Executive
Council Members. The Recording Secretary shall maintain a permanent
record of each Member of the Chapter including a name, address, class,
and instrument played. The Recording Secretary will be responsible for
the publication of The Sundodger.
The Corresponding Secretary shall be responsible for all Chapter
communication. The Corresponding Secretary shall be responsible for the
e-mail account and will be responsible for the Chapter e-mail distribution
lists. The Corresponding Secretary will be responsible for the publication
of The Gamma Gossip. The Corresponding Secretary shall coordinate the
submission of articles to The Accent and The Podium publications. The
Corresponding Secretary shall be responsible for Honorary and Alumni
Member records and dissemination of information to those Members.
The Historian shall maintain a written and pictorial record of the current
activities of the Band and Chapter and actively research past Band and
Chapter history. The Historian will be responsible for the coordination of
the chapter display and scrapbook for District Convention and National
Convention (if applicable).
The Director of Post-Membership Education (DPME) shall be responsible
for the continuing education of the Chapter’s current Active members. The
DPME shall have all lessons submitted to the Executive Council for
approval at least 24 hours in advance of the event at which they will occur.
No DPME lesson shall be given without prior approval from the Executive
Council.
The Parliamentarian shall advise the Chapter and Executive Council upon
all rules and policies as set forth in the Chapter and National
Constitutions. The Parliamentarian shall have a working knowledge of the
Chapter, District, Joint District, and National Constitution. The
Parliamentarian shall maintain the official copy of the Chapter
Constitution, and have current copies of all above mentioned Constitutions
available to all Active Members for reference at all Chapter meetings.
The Parliamentarian shall be familiar with parliamentary procedure. The
3.14
3.15
3.16
3.17
3.18
Parliamentarian shall be present for advisement at Executive Council
meetings, without privilege of vote.
The Webmaster shall be appointed, through application, by the Executive
Council following each year’s election. The Webmaster is open to any
Active or Associate Member. The Webmaster shall be responsible for
updating the website within one week of major events or requests. If the
request cannot be completed within one week, the Webmaster is
responsible for notifying the requester for the expected time of
completion. The Webmaster shall provide access to all Chapter
publications and documents.
The Director of Music shall be appointed, through application, by the
Executive Council following each year’s election. The Director of Music
is open to any Active or Associate Member. The Director of Music shall
be responsible for the promotion of music through the creation and
organization of music-based projects and events.
Upon due cause a Chapter Officer or Appointed Position Holder may be
removed from office following a favorable vote of three-fourths of the
Chapter’s total Active Membership. The individual will be given a hearing
in front of the Active Membership before the said motion is voted on. The
vote will be by secret ballot.
In the case of the vacancy of an office between regularly scheduled
elections, the following procedure shall be used to fill the vacancy until
the next regularly scheduled election.
3.17.1 The office of the President shall be filled by the Vice-President,
leaving the office of Vice-President vacant.
3.17.2 A special election will be held following the same provisions as
prescribed for normal elections for the offices of Vice-President,
Treasurer, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary,
Historian, DPME, and Parliamentarian. The position of Webmaster
will be filled by an Executive Council appointment.
3.17.3 A vacancy in any office or appointed position will be filled
immediately during a regularly scheduled Chapter meeting.
All Chapter Officers shall compile a report on the week’s developments
for the President. This report will be submitted at a time designated by the
President.
IV. Finances
4.01
The financial policies of the Chapter shall be governed by a budget
adopted at the beginning of each academic quarter. The budget must be
4.02
4.03
4.04
4.05
approved by a two-thirds majority of the Chapter’s total Active
Membership. Any deviations from the approved budget must be approved
by a two-thirds majority of the Chapter’s total Active Membership.
Income of the Chapter shall be derived from annual dues assessed from
each Active Member and fundraising projects conducted by the Chapter.
These dues shall cover an annual National Membership fee as determined
by the National Chapter and may include Chapter dues as outlined in
sections 4.02.1, 4.02.2, and 4.02.3. All National dues shall be paid on or
before October 15th of each year. Members failing to pay National dues
buy October 15th shall be listed as Inactive on the Chapter Personnel
Report.
4.02.1 Local Dues may be required on a quarter-by-quarter basis as
deemed necessary by the Executive Council.
4.02.2 Any Local Dues will be set by the Executive Council and must be
approved by a two thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Chapter’s total
Active Membership. Any Local dues must be set two (2) weeks
prior to the start of the quarter in which they will be collected.
4.02.3 Any Local Dues shall be paid by the second week of the quarter.
Members failing to pay local dues shall meet with the Executive
Council to discuss Membership Status.
The Chapter shall pay an annual National Fraternity fee as determined by
the National Fraternity and payable to the National Executive Director on
or before October 15 of each year.
The Chapter shall have and maintain a Convention Fund. The Convention
Fund shall be set forth by the Executive Council and approved by the
Chapter.
Any Active Member unable to meet any financial obligation to the
Chapter by the obligation’s deadline shall arrange a meeting with the
Executive Council prior to the deadline to make payment arrangements.
V. Committees
5.01
The following standing committees shall function to serve the needs of the
Chapter: Service and Fundraising.
5.01.1 The Service Committee shall exist to plan and organize worthwhile
projects to serve the bands of the University of Washington. The
Service Committee shall also be responsible for eliciting the
support of the Chapter to complete the projects.
5.01.2 The Fundraising Committee shall exist to plan and organize
worthwhile projects to raise funds for the functions of the
5.02
5.03
5.04
5.05
5.06
5.07
5.08
Chapter. The Fundraising Committee shall also be responsible for
eliciting the support of the Chapter to complete the projects.
5.01.3 All other Committees of the Chapter shall be determined as
required by the Chapter.
5.01.3.1 The creation of a new non-standing Committee shall
require a favorable majority vote the Chapter’s total
Active Membership.
5.01.3.2 The new Committee Head will be assigned following the
provisions outlined in section 5.02.
All Committee Heads shall be nominated by the Executive Council and
shall be presented to the Chapter for approval.
New Committee Heads will be selected for all committees, except
temporary committees, each spring quarter after the election of the new
Executive Council following the same previsions outlined in 5.02.
All Committees are responsible to meet as deemed necessary and
announce the time and location of meetings at a regularly scheduled
meeting of the Chapter.
All Committee Heads shall compile a report on the week’s developments
for the President. This report will be submitted at a time designated by the
President. All Committees are responsible to report on Committee
business at each regularly scheduled Chapter Meeting.
Upon due cause a Committee Head may be removed from their position
following a favorable vote of three-fourths of the Chapter’s total Active
Membership. The individual will be given a hearing in front of the Active
Membership before the said motion is voted on. The vote will be by secret
ballot.
In the case of the vacancy of a Committee Head position between
regularly scheduled elections, a new Committee Head will be put in place
following the same provisions outlined in section 5.02.
Upon due cause a non-standing Committee may be disbanded following a
favorable vote of a majority of the Chapter’s total Active Membership. A
discussion on the necessity and purpose of said committee will take place
before the motion is voted on. The vote will be by secret ballot unless a
majority of the Active Membership present agrees otherwise.
VI. Meetings
6.01
A regularly called meeting of the Chapter shall be held at least twice a
month during the regular school year. Meetings may be held more
frequently when deemed advisable by the Chapter. The exact time and
6.02
6.03
6.04
6.05
6.06
6.07
location of the meeting shall be announced by the Chapter President prior
to the meeting.
Special Chapter meetings shall be called as needed by the Executive
Council.
The Recording Secretary shall take roll at each meeting.
One-half of all Active Members in the Chapter together with at least three
Chapter Officers shall constitute a quorum at all meetings.
Unless otherwise specified in this Constitution, all business shall be
decided by a simple majority of all votes cast, omitting abstentions. If onethird of total votes cast are abstentions, discussion must continue.
Proxy and absentee voting will be allowed on any business that has been
brought up at a previous meeting.
6.06.1 Proxy and absentee voting will be approved by the Executive
Council on a case-by-case basis.
6.06.2 All proxy assignments and absentee votes will be sent to the
President before the vote occurs.
In general, the order of business of all Chapter meetings shall be:
a) Opening Ceremonies
b) Approval of Minutes
c) Report of Committees
d) Report on Chapter Officers
e) Old Business
f) New Business
g) Closing Ceremonies
When deemed advisable, the general order of business may be changed at
the discretion of the Chapter President.
VII. Amendments
7.01
Any part of this Constitution may be amended at any time by a two thirds
(2/3) vote of all eligible voting members of the Chapter.
7.01.1 If the favorable vote on a proposed amendment is less than two
thirds (2/3) majority, yet there is an absolute majority vote, the
proposed amendment shall be tabled until the next regularly
scheduled review of this Constitution.
7.01.2 If two thirds (2/3) of the votes cast by the members are favorable,
the proposed amendment shall be declared adopted, and shall
become operative and effective at the conclusion of the meeting
unless otherwise noted.
7.01.3 Proposed amendments to this Constitution shall be presented in
writing to the Chapter at least seven (7) days prior to their
consideration.
7.01.4 The Chapter Parliamentarian shall assemble a Jurisdiction
Committee to review all Chapter Documents at least once a year.
This review will occur before Chapter Officer elections.